A PLAN, MAYBE ?

Yuri was arguably one of the biggest vampires that the clan has ever known, which I guess made him a top choice for my father as my bodyguard.

Rumour had it that he used to be a street wrestler back at Russia in the early eighteenth century before he was turned.

The details of how he became a vampire aren’t clear since he has never really talked about it, and no one else has ever come forward to claim that he or she sired him or knew who did.

One other thing I found the most strange when it came to Yuri, which was arguably a long list was how he had no accent. He usually spoke a clear clean-cultish language, which meant that he either worked hard to get rid of his accent, or he wasn’t from where legend had it that he came from.

Vampires are known to be a bit uptight and set in their ways, especially ones as old as Yuri. You can tell where an old vampire is originally or what era he came from by the way they spoke. Yet in Yuri’s case, the only marker that showed that he was Russian was his name; Yuri Petrokov. It sounds a bit cliche to me, but that was none of my business.

I am not one to pry so I never asked any questions. If papa thought he was trusted enough to be assigned to his precious heir, then there was no point to argue it.

“Yuri, you do realize that your beloved prince is asking for your humble opinion, don’t you think it would be perceived wise to give him something tangible that he can work with, instead of standing there taking up space and wasting my royal time.”

I had every intention to sound as flamboyant and sarcastic as I did. It was either that or I was going to get annoyed. I am kind of a big deal around here and to the entire vampire clan, so hell will freeze over before anyone decides to become the focus of my anger.

“I am sorry your highness, but I don’t know what to say about your case. It is forbidden for vampires to mate with humans do not think…”

“You do not think what Yuri? No one said anything about mating now so I would advise you not to finish that statement if you still have the slightest intention to have a good rest today”

“I am sorry your highness. Pardon me for my hasty assumptions. Like I said earlier, your meal is ready. It has been for quite some time now, and I think the blood must be getting cold”

He finishes with a courteous bow.

How can I get anyone to be useful to me when they are scared to death by my anger? Rumour has it that I am capable of so much destruction when I get really mad, but I on the other hand have never seen any of it.

All I have been told right from the time I was born was that I was special as in the case that I was born human to vampire parents. Crazy right?

Yea but it turns out that it wasn’t as crazy as it seemed to the vampire community.

After a vampire must have gotten a mate and performed the “FAADF” which I think is the human equivalent to a wedding, they are bound to their mate for all eternity unless, of course, a bound mate dies. Vampires do not have divorces, but the truth is that it is often very difficult to find a bound mate which means that by the time you find one, you are already weary and tired that you would do anything to cement your union.

Take me now as an example, I will be roughly two hundred years old on the first day of winter this year, which is roughly in two months, but I have no bond mate.

So after a couple’s FAADF, they can have a child at the hundredth year of being bound if both the mates are alive, if one of them dies the entire count is messed up. The child only comes after the hundredth year of the union. Not a year earlier, and not a year later.

In the royal family’s case, I came as a twin.

Well, I was briefly a twin for only two months after my conception. We lost my twin sister two days before we were delivered and no one could explain how and why, but somehow there was some sort of reverse cycle kind of magic and I was born human.

I once heard papa talk about me absorbing the youthful essence of my twin or something of that sort but I never really understood it.

I was human for a while til I was about six years old then, I started getting some of my vampire features. Even while I was getting the fangs and super speed, I was still pretty much as human as can be. I would bleed over the slightest bruise and I pretty much had a chance of dying from any physical trauma that could kill a regular human.

I came into my full vampire form when I turned twenty-six, and that was when my parents finally decided that it was okay for me to have a life of my own.

The details of my life are generally a story for another day. Right now I am more focused on finding the perfect way to get Rose to at least like me. First, she has to know about my existence before anything else. The more that I think about it, the more kidnapping her and locking her up in my mansion until she develops Stockholm syndrome and falls in love with me seems like an easier choice.

It is definitely what I would approve of instead of the slow and steady creepy strategy I have chosen to follow.

“Yuri forget about the cold blood, tell me something I can work with “ I laugh a bit to myself over at my choice of words

“I need you to teach me how to woo a human girl. Should I write her a letter, or poetry, where do I start? Tell me anything”

Again my bodyguard was silent. Luckily this time the delay or lack of speech was momentary.

“Your highness, the king wouldn’t like this. the entire clan would fall into chaos if they hear of this… it shouldn’t even be spoken of, let alone by the prince? With all due respect, I think this is madness”

“I am afraid with that last part, I must agree. I have gone bunkers, but the thing is that I quite like this feeling” I finish just before I burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

Who would have thought that the great Prince Maximillian would go crazy over one human girl? Well, I would have bet on myself just like anyone else, so I understand Yuri’s profound confusion.

The big man stood quietly watching me as I struggled to pull myself together from the fits of laughter.

“Yuri, you have known me since I was a young boy, and you know that whether anyone likes it or not, I will still go ahead to do whatever the hell I want as long as I feel the slightest inclination to. You also know that I am the crowned prince of Santero, which invariably gives me a pass to do whatever the hell I want to do.”

“That being said, and with any other reason for your panic duly sorted out, I ask again for your advice, but if you insist on being entirely useless to me, then by all means have a lovely evening. And try not to bother me again for the rest of the night.”

I walk over to take my seat on my favorite bedroom sofa. It was placed at the innermost corner of the room, away from the window and away from possible sight. Most times I would sit there and no one would be able to tell that I was in the room and that was the precious part about it.

“you can leave now Yuri, I think you have proven your worth. And as for the blood, I think I have lost my appetite for the rest of the night.”

Again he was silent for some time, except for the sound of him taking in heavy breaths of air possibly contemplating his next line of action.

His presence was beginning to irk me but I chose to allow him and let him take his time with his exit. He stood there unmoving for a while until finally, he starts to speak.

“well if you are so keen on wooing this human girl of yours, then I suppose it will make sense if you wrote her a letter. A love letter or something of that sort. I have been told that humans tend to love grand gestures of affection, so you have to be ready to make her world spin” Yuri finally adds at the last moment in a desperate attempt to put me in a better mood.

His ploy seemed to work because before we both knew it, I was out of my grand chair of sadness, and I was pacing the room at vampire speed.

‘what do you mean to make her world spin Yuri? I am a vampire and also a prince too. That should cause enough spin to her world don’t you think?”

“ehhh…. Your Highness, I think it would be in your best interest to keep that part of the story away from her if you want to ever get somewhere.” Yuri says sounding all stern and almost like my father.

“Do you mean I should lie to her?” I ask a little too high pitched for my liking and with a shocked expression glued to my face.

“yes” Yuri answers not in the slightest bit perturbed.

“Have you gone mad?” I ask again with the same high-pitched tone that I despise so much. There was nothing royal or regal about this tone. It made me feel like a spoilt little boy.

“Do you think this is a joke? “ I ask staring pointedly at Yuri who only stays silent, so I continue.

“Do you not understand Yuri, clearly you don’t but this girl might as well have a chance of being my bound mate.I can feel it in my gut. You can’t expect me to lie to her, I don’t even lie as it is so why would I start now for any reason?”

“I am sorry your highness, I don’t think a human can be your bound mate. They are way too fragile and can never survive the rituals in the FAADF. It has never been done. This is simply for your amusement and that I understand ”

“Just because it has never been done doesn’t mean it can not happen. Don’t be so set in your ways big guy. Try to live a little”

“I should be the one telling you to live a little since you spend the most of your day locked away painting in your studio until very recently,” he says while giving me a nervous chuckle.

“Again your highness, permit me to speak freely, but I think this will end badly for everyone involved. Maybe a couple of shags or two will get this energy out of your system, and that you know can be easily arranged.”

“Yuri thank you for your concern and your offer of the royal whores, but I think I will pass. I want this girl…. wait….. I can’t believe I just said that out loud, but I guess I really do”

“I have been following her around secretly for over a month now, and I love everything about her so if you do not have anything positive to add to this conversation, then you are free to go. Again”

“Wait your highness, did you say you have been following her for over a month now?”

Yuri asks stunned at his lack of vigilance as the royal guard.

“yes I have, the first night I saw her was at a little shop four weeks ago,” I say with a little smile while reliving the very moment Rose walked into the store.

I love the way her name rolled off my lips. So easy and at the same time so rich and beautiful, just like the flower.

“You went to a store too, WHEN!!” Yuri screams, snapping me out of my reverie.

“oh be quiet would you, I still think you are the best bodyguard ever. I just needed some time on my own outside these walls. I was beginning to feel trapped. And I am glad I did. I guess being a royal vampire has its perks after all so it's not your fault that you can’t be out in the sun”

“Meeting Rose has got to be the highlight of my entire existence, and that should tell you just how much she makes me feel without even doing anything.”

Yuri opens his mouth to say something but decides against it and shuts up instead.

I realized that for the first time in a long time he looked a bit tired. I know it can never be easy putting up with me and my moody persona most of the time but I just didn’t know how much was getting to him.

“would you take a seat big guy, it looks like we are going to be here for a while. And while you are at it, would you please help me understand why you think it would be a great idea to lie to Rose.”

He takes a seat as I requested while giving me a little smile and letting out a tired puff of air.

“So this isn’t a case of a hypothetical human girl after all. This girl has a name, and from the way you talk about her you must like her?”

“Well Yuri, I would not be here asking your opinion on how best to rock her world and get her to like me if I didn’t” I gave him a look that showed that he was stating an obvious fact, to which he replies with a smile.

“Well, in that case, I think you should keep your identity to yourself for now. Humans are quite fragile naturally, no offense but you of all people should know that. They find it a bit difficult to comprehend details that are beyond their brain capacity. So in order not to scare your Rose away before you even get the chance to make her fall in love with you , don’t tell her for now until she has shown signs that she is truly ready .”

I have always known that Yuri was a wise man so the points he made didn’t surprise me that they made so much sense.

So for now the plan would be to get her to know me without really knowing who I was, and then subsequently and hopefully she falls for me I would let her know who I really am.

Right now it doesn’t seem like the most straight straightforward plan in the book, but hopefully, it will all fall in place as the nights go by.